We tracked some strength of schedule info for school teams last week so we through we'd look at HS club strength of schedule details this week.

Now, we know this is circular reasoning. We can say a team plays a lot of ranked opponents because we've ranked those teams, often in the same league. So we're bolstering our own opinions with data based on our own opinions. But it's still somewhat illuminating, especially when the data flies in the face of the idea that's it's just based on what league you're in.

The team with the toughest schedule among the top-ranked sides is probably Aspetuck. The Connecticut side has played 10 ranked teams (and what we did here was the same as what we did with the schools, tracking the ranking at the time of the game, not the ranking now). Those 10 opponents has an average ranking (either school or club) of 11.5. All but one were Top 20 sides and five were Top 10. Next comes Granite Bay, with nine ranked opponents, but an average ranking of 19. The thing is, Granite Bay has beaten all of those teams, and Aspetuck is 8-2. United has seven ranked opponents, with six wins and a tie—average ranking 22. Woodlands has seven ranked opponents also, with an average ranking of 11 (exactly 11, no remainder). 

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Now this is where the judgment falls apart a little. Woodlands lost to West Houston when West Houston was unranked. Now we have West Houston ranked at #10. 

So if we look at the schedule based on today's rankings, we get Aspetuck (10 ranked opponents, average ranking 12.5), Granite Bay (8 and 17), Woodlands (7 and 16), and United (6 and 24).

Thus there are some changes but not so many as to change the hierarchy. Aspetuck has the toughest schedule so far, but Granite Bay's ability to win and win convincingly, along with having a schedule that is second-toughest, keeps them at #1. What if Aspetuck had lost by 3 points to St. Ignatius? Might we have put them at #1? We'd have to consider it carefully for sure.

Belmont Shore's schedule hasn't been as long, so they don't have as many ranked opponents. But they keep beating really good teams, and those teams showed they are good by being right there with Woodlands, who also played St. Thomas Aquinas and KC, who have played Valor and Bixby and Father Ryan and Penn and Denver East. So we use those connections.